The New Jersey Equity in Commercialization Collective (NJECC) announces its first annual commercialization conference, Innovation for Impact: Commercializing Academic Discovery, to be held on Thursday, October 27th, 2022 on NJIT’s campus in Newark, NJ.

The conference aims to create sustainable connections between various participants in the New Jersey innovation ecosystem, targeting female inventors and commercialization gatekeepers: investors, service providers, and tech transfer & venture development staff. The conference will include educational panel discussions for both new and experienced innovators addressing commercialization options and pathways, as well as keynote presentations from successful academic innovators. A showcase and networking session is planned to provide opportunities to develop connections among gatekeeper and inventor participants.

Entrepreneurs and those who are “commercialization curious,” as well as investors, tech transfer and academic entrepreneurship staff are all invited to attend. Registration for the conference is free and currently open. 

Project co-PI and conference organizer Judith Sheft, Executive Director of the New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology noted, “This conference is bringing together stakeholders from all sectors – innovators, tech transfer personnel, incubator/accelerator managers, investors and government to discuss increasing participation by women and under-represented minorities in the commercialization eco-system to ensure that innovations can result in positive societal impact.” 

NJECC PI Treena Arinzeh, now a professor of biomedical engineering at Columbia University, said, "This conference is an opportunity for academics to learn more about the commercialization process and to engage and network with investors. We are encouraging women faculty and faculty from underrepresented groups who may have an interest in commercialization or may be experienced in the process to attend." 

For more information about NJECC and to register for the conference, please visit: 

www.njeccadvance.com/njecc-annual-conference